Seahawks 90-Man Countdown: TE Noah Gindorff - Future Enrollee at Tight End U?

Though injuries have been a major issue for Noah Gindorff over the previous two seasons, his size and physicality coming from a pro style offense at North Dakota State could make him a good fit as a future factor at tight end for the Seattle Seahawks.

Author:
Corbin K. Smith
Publish date:
Jun 12, 2023 7:09 PM EDT

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Seattle Seahawks

With the calendar flipping to June and offseason activities well underway league-wide, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in less than two months, officially ushering in the 2023 season.

To celebrate the new incoming season, I will be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2023 campaign.

Noah Gindorff, Tight End

Height/Weight: 6-6, 267 pounds

2022 Stats*: Six receptions, 74 yards, one touchdown

*College stats at North Dakota State

An all-state talent at Crosby-Ironton High School in Minnesota, Gindorff committed to join North Dakota State, a perennial FCS powerhouse. After redshirting his first season on campus, he served as a core special teams player in 2018 before vaulting into the starting lineup midway through his sophomore season, catching 10 passes for 170 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. He followed up with another solid season catching 11 passes for 85 yards and three scores in a COVID-postponed 2020-21 campaign.

Though he battled injuries in his final two seasons with the Bison, Gindorff remained a key component of the team's standout run game as a blocker and caught 23 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He was unable to participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl or the NFL combine due to recovering from ankle surgery and signed with the Seahawks after going undrafted.

Best-Case Scenario: Fully recovered from an ankle injury that wrecked his final two college seasons, Gindorff puts his physicality and toughness on display as an inline blocker and surprises with soft hands as a receiver, eventually earning a practice squad spot with the potential to move into Seattle's tight end rotation in 2024.

Worst-Case Scenario: Not moving as well due to his multiple ankle surgeries, Gindorff loses out on reps with the second and third-team offenses to Tyler Mabry and Griffin Hebert in training camp and gets cut after the preseason finale without a return to the practice squad.

What to Expect in 2023: If not for back-to-back season ending injuries, Gindorff may very well have been drafted in April, especially if he would have been healthy enough to run at the NFL combine. But medical red flags understandably dropped him out of the draft completely and he will first have to prove he can stay healthy long enough to give himself a chance to compete in a talented Seattle tight end group.

If he's back to his pre-injury form, Gindorff has great size for a Y-tight end and coming from a program that values running the football, he has a well-developed game in the blocking department, which would be appealing for the Seahawks. Away from his health, his athleticism may be his biggest question mark and he will have to make some plays as a receiver to put himself in the conversation for a roster spot. Even if his medicals check out, with three established veterans and Mabry on the roster, his best outcome may be a redshirt season on the practice squad.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Profiles